Notes from SnapChat CEO on running a big company

Notes after listening to CEO of Snapchat for 2.5 hours straight
1. "If a giant copies you, it means you're onto something. Build harder."
2. When Instagram copied Stories, Snap didn't panic. Spiegel reframed it as validation, not
defeat.
3. Spiegel argues most people confuse "free speech" with platform design. Private companies
can (and should) curate content.
4. The hardest challenge Spiegel faced is evolving himself every 6 months as the company
scaled.
5. "The battle is always with yourself to grow fast enough for what your team needs next."
6. Layoffs are the worst days. Not because of headlines, but because you feel responsible for
letting people down.
7. Spiegel doesn't believe in one-size-fits-all leadership. He adapts to each team member to
bring out their best.
8. Focus is a superpower. "You need to get really good at saying no, especially when you're
small."
9. Mini-games on Snapchat were beloved, but not scalable. So they were shut down.
10. Snapchat invests through downturns, even at the cost of short-term share price drops.
11. Al's real superpower is making people ask better questions, not just giving better answers.
12. Spiegel doesn't fear Al replacing creativity, he uses it to get feedback, explore, and iterate
faster.
13. Snap returned to the office post-pandemic. Why? Culture, creativity, and onboarding suffered
too much remotely.
14. Remote work "worked" during COVID because of deep pre-built trust. New hires struggle
without that baseline.
15. TikTok is banned at home. "It's like crack. I don't even use it."
16. As a public company, forecasting made Snap sharper. Quarterly rigour = better operational
discipline.
17. But public markets punish long-term bets, especially during high interest periods. Snap
invests anyway.
18. Spectacles (Snap AR glasses) are a long bet, current versions are in developer hands to speed
up learning.
19. "Tech changes slowly, then all at once." You can be right and still be 10 years too early.
20. Impostor syndrome isn't bad. It means you're open to learning, "I don't like the term impostor
syndrome. It makes curiosity sound like a flaw."
21. Council meetings, a practice Spiegel borrowed from his school, help teams share openly and
build trust.
22. Most people don't see how emotional building a startup is. Evan had to change everything
about himself to keep up.
23. The only reason he's lasted this long? "I care, deeply, about what we're building."
24. Urgency is baked into his DNA. Patience is not a strong suit.
25. Most company cultures drift toward flattery. CEOs must actively break the "filtered feedback
loop."
26. "You won't get the truth unless you go out and talk to people."
27. Final advice for founders: "Ask yourself if you love what you're doing. That's the only thing that
keeps you going."